Love and loss come alive in Judson’s ‘Almost, Maine’
Love and loss are universal languages — even in the small town of Almost, Maine, a mythical location where a play of the same name is set.
“Almost, Maine,” the 2002 work by John Cariani, is being produced at Judson University in Elgin and deals with age-old human relationships in a lighthearted way.
Show times are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25; tickets are $6 for students and seniors and $8 for adults.
“‘Almost, Maine’ is a compilation of love stories, about different characters and different areas of love,” said co-student director and cast member Mike Nicosia.
“Each of us play about two or three different characters,” said the other co-director and actor, aptly named, Juddson Updike, who joked that he thought the college might make him a mascot when he applied.
“It’s a collection of love stories revolving around all the people who are all interconnected is some way in this small town,” added cast member Kali Moxley, a junior at Judson from Crystal Lake.
“I play a lady who travels from the Midwest to Maine to see the northern lights and a guy falls in love with her,” Moxley said. “The second one is a waitress and the third is this tomboy girl who falls in love with her best friend.”
“There’s a scene where (a couple) just started dating, there’s one where they’ve been dating awhile and are getting engaged, there’s one with two friends discussing the idea of dating and another one where they’re married and are discussing a divorce,” Nicosia said.
Creating and realizing a character, let alone three, can be tough according to Moxley.
“I think it’s challenging because you have to develop more than one character,” she said. “In this one we have to switch back and forth and make sure we’re fully aware of which character at the time.”
“It has been challenging,” admitted Nicosia. “Doing the production side of it while memorizing lines for three different scenes for three different characters.”
However, performing double duty as cast member and student director doesn’t overwhelm Updike, an Indianapolis native.
“You just have to wear different hats at different times,” Updike said. “Thankfully last semester I took a directing class so I still have that text book.”
The first student-directors in Judson University history, juniors Updike and Nicosia wore the director’s hat long before lines needed to be learned.
Choosing a play and casting were at the top of their list in their directorial debut.
“When Mike and I decided to do it, we were looking at plays with smaller casts, definitely not a musical, that would draw in college kids,” Updike said.
“After reading the play, I had a vision of who I saw as these characters, who’d fit in the roles and I knew what I wanted and I asked them and they said yes,” Nicosia said.
“We told them it would be a lot of work, but a lot of fun,” Updike said.
A little bit of juggling takes place between Updike and Nicosia when they exchange roles as actors and directors. “(My co-director and I) are never onstage at the same time, so whenever I’m onstage he’s directing me and when he’s onstage I direct him,” Updike said.
Being in the director’s seat has given Updike and Nicosia a bit of empathy for their directors of productions past.
“There’s a lot more work involved which is good and bad. I certainly appreciate more what my directors do,” Updike said.
The co-directors’ jobs went beyond casting and directing.
“There’s the back work of it, besides production, like setting up lights and designing and building scenery, but we’ve worked our way through it,” Nicosia said. “You have to block everything. You have to know that people know what you’re looking for. We had to do the research.”
Ten years ago, Judson University eliminated its drama department, reviving it three years ago, just in time for incoming freshmen Updike, Nicosia and Moxley.
“It’s a very good experience, getting things together and taking what we’ve learned in high school and our first few years of college and going off on our own without any faculty,” said Nicosia, who attended Westminster Christian School in Elgin.
“I feel like I’ve learned about myself as a director and a leader,” Updike said. “And that’s something I can take away from this experience.”
According to Updike, he isn’t the only one to learn from the “Almost, Maine” production. He feels audience members can learn something as well.
“It’s a show about relationships and all human relationships are flawed. (The characters) all have aspects of real life in them where you can see your past relationship and your current relationship,” he said. “So it’s a way to laugh at yourself.”
Other cast members include Shelby Hirschberg of Elgin, Natalie Turner of West Chicago, and Michael Wallace of Allegan, Mich.
To order tickets, call (847) 628-2625.
If you go
What: Almost, Maine, a drama about love, relationships and loss.
When: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25
Where: The Marjorie Thulin Performance Hall of the Alice and Ed Thompson Center, Judson University, 1151 N. State St., Elgin
Cost: $8, $5 for students, seniors, and groups of 15 or more
Call: (847) 628-2625